


Start Small

by twoseas



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Content, Getting Back Together, Hannibal and Will were in a serious relationship, Hannibal is very weak for Will in this, Happy Ending, M/M, Smitten Hannibal Lecter, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, Will is very weak for Hannibal but is much saltier about it, as he does, then Hannibal screwed up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 19:58:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18532102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twoseas/pseuds/twoseas
Summary: Hannibal and Will were together until a breach of trust ended things spectacularly. Brought back into Will's orbit, Hannibal fully intends to rectify the situation.Featuring bitter ex Will Graham, a regretful Hannibal, Alana being a far better friend than Hannibal deserves, and the casual presence of murder and cannibalism.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was partially inspired by some images I saw of Hugh Dancy from one of his earlier roles. I was like "whoa man, Hannibal would lock that down" and then I remembered the kind of person Hannibal is and was like "he'd screw it up so bad too, hopefully minus the stabbing though" and thus this fic was born. I've been wanting to do a different-first-meeting/knew-each-other-before type of fic for awhile now and I finally finished one!
> 
> Please, enjoy!

**Present Day**

 

Will strode into the office, body language and expression exuding aggravation. Hannibal recognized the smell of him at once, that scent that had burrowed its way into Hannibal’s brain and never left - cheap aftershave, dog, fish, wood, grease, and sweat. Hannibal shouldn’t have missed it. He did. Painfully. 

Recognition turned Will’s features slack the moment he saw him. That blank recognition was followed by a quick succession of emotions, the next more devastating to look at than the last. Surprise, longing, pain, rage, and then a fury so cold Hannibal fancied he could see his own breath swirl through the air. 

“No,” Will snarled at once, eyes snapping to Jack Crawford. “Absolutely not.”

“Will,” Jack began to pacify. 

“If he’s here, I walk,” Will declared. There was no hesitation in his words, no room for negotiation. 

Spine straightening and shoulders thrown back, Jack leveled Will with his most authoritative glare. “Listen, Will, you’re the best at what you do. But-”

“But you no longer have me,” Will said, furious expression smoothing into something more neutral. He turned back around. “Goodbye, Agent Crawford.”

Hannibal hadn’t even had the time to interject, to say a single word to Will. 

“Well,” Jack sighed, sitting down heavily. “That couldn’t have gone worse.”

Hannibal had to disagree. He knew Will. His reaction was impressively restrained. 

 

Will looked over the frames of his glasses as his students filed out of the lecture hall. Alana walked in against the tide of students and smiled, welcoming and warm and just a little amused. 

“Doctor Bloom,” Will drawled, mouth ticking upward. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I’ve come with a warning. They’re going to ambush you.”

The door swung open. 

“Right about now,” she told him unhelpfully, smile softened in apology. 

Jack came in, expression serious, and Hannibal Fucking Lecter followed, looking every bit as put together as ever. 

Will glowered. “No.”

“Will,” Jack tried again. 

“If Lecter goes, I’ll help,” Will informed him, refusing to let his eyes stray to the looming, magnetic presence that was Hannibal. “If he doesn’t, you can say goodbye to me ever being your pet profiler no matter how many times you hunt me down after class. Don’t make me quit this job too, Jack. I actually like lecturing here.”

Hannibal took a step forward and spoke in an achingly gentle, completely infuriating tone, “Will, if you’ll please listen.”

“Not happening,” Will told him, burning with the direct eye contact he forced himself to make. He bared his teeth and let all his venomous anger show. His jaw ached from the tension. 

Alana’s gaze flit between the two of them with burgeoning understanding. “You two know each other.”

“How?” Jack demanded, confusion in the lowering of his brow. 

“We used to fuck,” Will said crudely, enjoying the way Hannibal flinched. It was a minute, barely noticeable flinch, but a flinch nonetheless.

“What.” Alana’s jaw dropped. Beside her, Jack’s eyes were bulging in shock. 

“Will and I were in a relationship some years ago,” Hannibal explained, tone careful. He hadn’t looked away from Will the entire time. 

Alana’s mouth couldn’t fall open further and Jack looked to be having some kind of stroke.

“Then I found his journal full of observations on me and my psychological profile. Amongst other things,” Will told them icily, the last three words bit out in a pointed reminder for Hannibal. “And that was the last time I let him screw me.”

Shoving his laptop into his bag, Will walked away without another word. 

 

But Hannibal was never an easy one to shake. Will’s dogs were less tenacious with their bones than Hannibal was when on a mission. Will walked through the building and parking lot accompanied by his very own cannibalistic shadow.

“Follow me any further, see what I do,” Will warned him, taking his keys from his bag once they reached his car. 

Hannibal’s lips thinned, his expression not giving anything away. “You could talk to me like an adult. God forbid we become friendly.”

Laughing without any humor, Will shook his head. “Friendly.” He spoke through his teeth, body shaking in barely suppressed anger, “You took friendly off the table ten years ago, Hannibal.”

“You’ll let innocent people die for the sake of holding onto your anger with me?” Hannibal asked. His tone was cutting, words becoming purposely barbed in his defensiveness. He always did hate having his actions thrown in his face. 

“You don’t get to press that point,” Will told him just as sharply, indignant at being made out as the bad guy by Hannibal of all people. “I’ve been poked and prodded with guilt and responsibility and what I should do to save lives by more moral men than you. I’ve been beaten black and blue with that argument. Funny thing about a bruise that big, you keep pressing it and eventually it doesn’t hurt so bad.”

Yanking the door open, Will threw his bag into the passenger seat, ready to leave.

“Will, please.”

Ignoring the genuine sound of Hannibal’s plea, Will looked up long enough to get his final point across even as his insides tightened. It was an abrupt and excruciating reminder of the wretched yearning that had become his decade long companion. 

Gaze unwavering, Will told Hannibal in as steady a voice as he could muster, “As long as I don’t have to see you, I don’t care how many people die, Hannibal.” 

It was one hell of a line to drive off on. Will absently wondered if Hannibal appreciated the drama of it. 

 

Alana was watching him as if he were a particularly fascinating conundrum. He normally encouraged curiosity, but in this case he felt less generous. The vegetables he happened to be cutting wouldn’t suffer for his disquiet, but his knife did slice through with a little more force than strictly necessary. 

“You and Will, huh?” His former mentee finally brought up after a long sip of beer. 

While Hannibal normally felt an appreciation for Alana and her numerous admirable qualities, at this moment he felt a savage bit of triumph at deceiving her so well, right down to the beer she drank. “That’s not a question, Alana.”

“Come on, Hannibal. You don’t do relationships. You have...affairs. And now I find out you were involved with Will in what you yourself described as a relationship. You can’t blame me for being curious.”

He could, as a matter of fact. Hannibal cut a glance at her that showed how much he could. 

Leaning back with barely stifled laughter, Alana eyed him over the foam of her beer. “You’re both my friends. I won’t be taking any sides, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Hannibal shrugged a shoulder. “Perhaps that was a concern.”

“I mean, I know what Will said,” she continued. “But it couldn’t have been that bad, right?”

“You’re fishing, Doctor Bloom,” Hannibal chided. 

“Then I’ll be more upfront,” she declared. “Did you really screw up so fantastically?”

He sighed, sliding his carrots into a bowl for later use. “Yes.”

Alana’s eyes widened. “Wow.”

Hannibal debated the merits in telling her the truth. Of course she would never hear the full story, but he could tell her the gist. And as she was Will’s self-proclaimed friend, perhaps his obvious desire to make amends and reconnect with Will would make an ally of her. Alana had a big heart, a desire to aid those she felt deserved more, and she might want to help Hannibal win Will back. At the very least get his foot in the door. 

“Will and I were…” Hannibal chose his next words with care. “...a surprise. I was a guest lecturer in New Orleans and he had recently graduated the police academy. There was an incident at the campus where I was teaching and Will was one of the responding officers. I was quite taken with him, the handsome, intelligent young police officer I’d met. I originally intended it to be a brief, if memorable, affair. I was a guest lecturer, you must remember. I was only there for a single semester, possibly two.”

“But it got serious,” Alana filled in. 

“Quickly and with a startling intensity,” Hannibal confessed. “However, before I realized the strength of my own regard, I was quite intrigued by his mind. The way it worked.”

She groaned, burying her face in her hand. “Of course you were.”

Hannibal chopped at an onion with a stern expression aimed solely at himself. “I kept a journal. And, fool that I was, I included more than just observations. I also included personal details, things he confided in me as a lover, things I thought pertinent to certain aspects of his psychology.”

“No,” Alana gasped, peering up with accusation in her eyes. “Hannibal.”

“Yes, I’m aware,” he murmured knowingly. “When the depth of my love became known to me, I tucked the journal away on my shelf and began courting Will in earnest. I wished for him to accompany me back to this part of the country. Even then he had aspirations towards the FBI and I counted that as something in my favor.”

“Then he found the journal,” Alana concluded accurately. “And your betrayal of his trust.”

“It gets worse, if you can find it within yourself to believe,” Hannibal added with a sad smile. 

Alana’s voice was strained. “How?”

“My journal was not in English. Considering the sensitive nature of the information and my own desire for secrecy, I wrote in my native Lithuanian. Unbeknownst to me, after I mentioned a lack of opportunities to speak it Will had begun lessons in the language.”

“Will Graham was secretly learning Lithuanian for you,” Alana said, voice devoid of anything but surprise. 

“He already knew some French and he had asked me for Italian lessons.” Hannibal closed his eyes a moment and remembered those nights spent speaking to Will in his mother’s tongue, hushed promises of Florence and all the wonders he would show Will. The smooth cadence of Italian poetry mingled with the whisper of silk sheets. “He is quite brilliant. A quick learner.”

“Ok...” Alana drew out the last syllable. “I know I said I wouldn’t take sides, but I’m definitely on Will’s here.”

“Yes, I thought you might be,” Hannibal noted wryly. “I am too.”

“Jesus, I had no idea you could be such a bastard.” Alana deflated, staring at her beer before downing the rest of it. Without warning she sat up straight, suddenly wide eyed in realization. “Hannibal, are you the reason why Will hates psychiatrists so much?”

Wincing, Hannibal turned his back to begin heating a pan. “He was wary of mental health professionals when I first knew him, but not nearly so caustic in his dislike as he is now.”

Alana’s laugh was astounded and not at all complimentary. “You know, if you weren’t my friend I’d be very tempted to tell our colleagues exactly who turned Will against us.”

“And I would never hear the end of it, especially from Frederick,” Hannibal acknowledged. “A fitting punishment.”

Her expression became kinder in sympathy. “You regret it that much, do you?”

“I have never found a person more perfect for me than Will Graham,” Hannibal professed, utterly candid. “And I suspect I will continue to suffer for my mistake the rest of my life.”

The effects of Hannibal’s admission were immediate, Alana looking determined and full of purpose. “Alright, you just need to make it up to him.”

Hannibal remembered his first and only attempt to speak to Will after his discovery. He could still hear the click of the gun’s safety and then the dull thunk of Will’s knife penetrating the wooden door frame.

He shook his head with a doleful smile. “How could I possibly make amends for such a breach of trust?”

Alana settled into her seat, bright with ideas. “Start small. Have you actually apologized?”

Considering her words, Hannibal paused at the stove. 

Yes, bringing in Alana had been a wise choice. 

 

Will was going to rip his hair out. 

Nine days. Six victims. Three Ripper tableaus. All sorrowfully depicting famous betrayals at the hands of lovers. 

When the invitation for Hannibal’s dinner party came in the mail, Will rubbed it against his smelliest dog and sent it right back. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alana, on the phone with Hannibal: It never hurts to try the classic apology gifts. You know, flowers, chocolates. That sort of thing.  
> Hannibal, pulling out the business cards of a rude florist and chocolatier from his rolodex of murder: Flowers, chocolates. Got it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ten Years Earlier**

 

The morning light was kind to Will. It caressed him like a lover and Hannibal would be jealous of the sun if it didn’t provide him with such a breathtaking image. 

“It’s too early for you to be creepily staring at me, Hannibal.” Though his eyes remained closed, Will’s lips curved in a teasing smile. 

“Creepily?” Hannibal let his distaste for the word saturate every syllable. “Is that how you would describe my admiration for your beauty?”

Will laughed, finally opening his eyes. They danced with his good humor despite the bleariness of sleep. “Yes.”

Before Hannibal’s features could form more than the beginnings of an affronted expression, Will was up and straddling him. The younger man grinned wickedly as he squeezed his thighs around Hannibal’s hips. “But I don’t mind.”

“You’re a rare creature,” Hannibal told him, allowing his hands to map Will’s shapely thighs in a slow and reverential touch. “It would be heresy not to give you my full appreciation.”

“Give that full appreciation a little higher,” Will demanded coquettishly as he ran his fingers over Hannibal’s chest hair. 

Eager though he was, Hannibal didn’t let his touch become more than passingly provocative. “I have an early meeting.”

To soothe the temporary rejection, Hannibal gently clasped Will’s elegant neck, stroking his thumbs along his beloved’s sharp jawline. 

“Think they’re going to offer you a permanent position?” Will was pliant in Hannibal’s lap, eyes half lidded. Hannibal massaged the back of Will’s neck, easing some of the tension there. While Hannibal applied his ministration, Will groaned and dug his fingers into Hannibal’s chest. 

“I know they will,” Hannibal hummed, memorizing the way Will’s breathing hitched, the way his muscles tensed and relaxed, the brightness of his eyes, the softness of his smile, the curly fall of hair over his forehead. Will was just starting to grow his hair out from the austere cut he maintained even after leaving the academy and Hannibal eagerly anticipated the day he’d finally get to see the curls in all their glory. 

Will rolled his eyes goodnaturedly. “You’re so humble, Hannibal. That’s what I love about you.”

“Just that?”

Hannibal felt the vibrations of Will’s laughter and it only made him shift closer, the headboard used as leverage. 

“Also how you fish for compliments.”

Hannibal grinned at that, wide and unrepentant. 

Hannibal loosened his hold on Will’s neck, instead choosing to trail his fingers over his exquisite features. He was truly a sight to behold. 

“You know...” Will began, hesitating for a prolonged moment. Hannibal immediately snapped to attention. “If you accepted the position, you could stay with me.”

“Or you could come with me instead,” Hannibal countered at once, treading familiar ground. 

Will sighed and dropped forward. He nuzzled into Hannibal’s neck, planting a sweet kiss against the column of his throat. “We’re never going to agree, are we?”

“We’ve made less progress than I’d hoped,” Hannibal admitted, petting the back of Will’s head down to the nape of his neck. 

“You know I want to try for the FBI,” Will murmured. His fingers traced unseen patterns against Hannibal’s shoulder. “And Quantico is a lot closer to you than here, obviously, but that’s not anything that’ll happen soon. Long distance doesn’t work.”

“The odds aren’t ideal.” Kissing the top of Will’s head, Hannibal nudged the other man to make him meet his eyes. Will hardly avoided eye contact with him now that they were so intimate and he went willingly. “But who are we to cower at the odds when we can beat them?”

Will smiled, soft and hopeful enough to have Hannibal’s heart singing. “You think?”

“Together we could destroy worlds,” Hannibal proclaimed with the utmost confidence.

“It’ll be years, Hannibal. Could you really wait for me?”

Unable to stand the doubt in Will’s voice, Hannibal dipped his head and kissed him with feeling. “I’d wait an eternity for you.”

Will’s eyes were glassy, unshed tears making them shine. 

“Besides,” Hannibal told him matter of factly, “I’m quite wealthy and I would gladly pay for plane tickets to see you on a regular basis. Even so, I won’t stop trying to convince you to come back with me.”

Will bit at the juncture between Hannibal’s neck and shoulder, making him shiver. “I know.”

“In fact, I’m increasingly inclined to just kidnap you. Perhaps I shall whisk you away the second you let your guard down.”

Will huffed his amusement. “Is it bad that I kind of think you’ve really considered that?”

Hannibal smiled down at him. “Not at all. It shows how well you understand me.”

Will’s response was another kiss, this one with more teeth, though he pulled away soon enough. “You’ll be late.”

“I’m never late,” Hannibal corrected, getting up from Will’s embrace with reluctant, but practical haste.

Will stretched out in the bed that was now only occupied by one. He was a vision, lean and pale against the dark blue of Hannibal’s sheets. “Do you mind if I stay and go through your bookshelves? I’ve got the whole day off and I’m in a reading mood.”

“Of course. Make use of any and all things that catch your fancy,” Hannibal permitted with speed. “I want you to feel at home with me, Will. And that includes my things.”

Will watched him sort through his clothing options. 

“I do feel at home.” Will visibly swallowed, his voice low and hoarse. “With you.”

Hannibal set his chosen tie aside, returning to the bedside long enough to kiss Will deeply and tell him, “You’re family, Will. You’re home.”

“Hurry back,” Will ordered seriously. “I want you as soon as I can have you.”

“You have me, darling,” Hannibal assured him. “Well and truly.”

“And you have me,” Will beamed, love writ clear across his face. 

It wasn’t the first time Will had looked at him like that, but it still made Hannibal feel special. Seen. Cherished.

 

Days, weeks, months, years later, Hannibal often returned to that specific memory - the last time Will had looked at him full of love and affection. The world was a colder place without that look and Hannibal had ten years to be certain of the fact.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will, after finding proof that Hannibal is a serial killer: As long as he doesn't want to kill me, it's not so bad, right? It's kind of sexy. Everybody loves a bad boy.
> 
> *Five Minutes Later*
> 
> Will, after finding proof that Hannibal has secretly been psychoanalyzing him: MOTHER FUCKER WHERE'S MY GUN


	3. Chapter 3

**Present Day**

 

Will glared at the Bentley, his brow lowered in a stormy scowl. It was early, far too early for visitors let alone this specific visitor. Hannibal climbed out of his car, graceful as a big cat and just as deadly. Will choked down the aching want that usually rose up when he thought of Hannibal.

“Why are you here?” Will demanded, arms crossing. His dogs milled around his legs, staying on the porch at his command even as they wriggled and sniffed and strained to find out more about the unexpected arrival. 

“To talk to you,” Hannibal answered at once. “And to tell you how sorry I am.”

“Yeah, I know how goddamn sorry you are,” Will growled. “I’ve got over a week’s worth of waking up to break of dawn phone calls and six staged bodies that tell me how sorry you are.”

“And you’ve yet to respond.” Hannibal looked at the dogs, no doubt counting the number and recognizing the oldest member of the pack. His gaze returned to Will’s face. “I told Jack I wouldn’t be involved, Alana and I have referred him to alternatives you may find more palatable, and I’ve displayed my grief for all of Baltimore to see.”

Will breathed in deeply through his nose, his lungs expanding. He knew all that already, Jack and Alana both assaulting him with a barrage of calls and texts and surprise visits at lunch or after his lectures. He just didn’t understand why Hannibal thought he’d get a response. 

Will left Hannibal hanging, filling the silence with judgemental hostility. 

“You’re angry with me,” Hannibal sighed.

“Of course I’m angry!” Will threw his hands out in exasperation. “You’re not sticking to your end of the deal. I don’t tell anyone about your penchant for long pig, you don’t contact me. That’s how it’s supposed to go, but your current behavior is sorely testing my limits and your luck, Doctor Lecter.”

“I don’t recall ever agreeing to a deal,” Hannibal pointed out calmly. “If I remember correctly, it was more a demand at gunpoint.”

Will leaned against the post of his porch railing, his body sagging with the exhaustion of it all. Hating Hannibal was so much work, so much effort and energy. It was too much. Will scrubbed at his face, his eyes squeezed tight.  

“Just tell me plainly. What do you want, Hannibal?” 

“You.”

Will raised his head up slowly and arched an incredulous eyebrow. 

Hannibal looked off to the side, expression pained. When he looked back, his features remained unchanged, openly tormented by the feelings within. 

“I’m not in the habit of regretting my decisions,” Hannibal began, accent thick with emotion. “But after you left me, I realized that if I could reverse time, I would. I would correct my mistake. I do not feel whole without you, Will. I live, I breathe, I continue on as I always did. But without you the meaning has seeped from my life. The food is less flavorful, the art less pleasing to the eye, the music does not resonate quite so clearly. My diversions, which once brought me such enjoyment, have been reduced to distractions - attempts to fill the howling emptiness created by your absence.”

“Hannibal…” Will frowned, shaking his head in an attempt to ward away the softening of his anger against the other man. 

“I would like a chance to atone for what I did,” Hannibal told him, sure as could be. “And perhaps, in time, regain your favor.”

Will cursed himself and his ridiculous, weak-to-Hannibal-Lecter heart. 

“I’m a dumbass,” he swore to the air. His dogs looked up at him with worried tilts to their heads and pricked ears. “A fucking idiot.”

“Will?” Hannibal’s lips pursed in concern. 

“One dinner,” Will told him firmly. “That’s it. No other promises. Just one single dinner.”

Hannibal’s concern melted away like spring snow, his smile incandescent.  

“Don’t,” Will groaned. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“How am I looking at you, Will?” Hannibal sounded about as smug as Will expected, but there was an underlying tenuousness that kept Will from wanting to smash that handsome face in. At least the bastard knew he was on thin ice.

Kicking the post with his heel, Will gathered himself. He didn’t want Hannibal to know how affected he was, how much influence Hannibal still had on him. And yet when he met Hannibal’s eyes he still had to hold back a full body shiver at the intensity of Hannibal’s focus, at the undeniable love and longing that practically radiated off him. 

“Like I make you happy,” Will mumbled begrudgingly. “Like you love me.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have any other way of looking at you,” Hannibal grinned, exposing those slightly crooked teeth that Will always found so attractive. 

Hannibal continued to watch Will, gaze warm and searching. Tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes, his emotions spilling over. 

After his discoveries, Will thought Hannibal’s feelings for him were shallow at best. He figured Hannibal viewed him as a toy, something fun to divert himself with, nothing of real importance. Seeing Hannibal now, really  _ seeing  _ him, Will knew he had it wrong, the anger and pain of the past distorting the truth of the matter. 

Running a hand through his hair, Will levelled a much less heated glare at Hannibal. “If you screw this up again, I’ll kill you.”

Rather than putting Hannibal off, Will’s statement had a single tear spilling over the sharp blade of Hannibal’s cheekbone. “My life is yours, Will. Yours to have. Yours to take. I’m at your mercy.”

“Jesus, just get over here.” 

Hannibal responded with alacrity, at Will’s side before he could really start to think about what a bad idea this was. Will searched his face for any trace of deceit, regret, or manipulation. There wasn’t the slightest hint to be found. Assured of Hannibal’s sincerity, Will reeled him in by the tie, pulling him close so he could speak against his mouth. 

“I mean it, Hannibal,” Will whispered. “Take my home from me again and I’ll burn it down to the foundations.”

“I would never,” Hannibal swore, earnest and passionate in his declaration. “Never forget, I live there too.”

The last bit of distance between them was closed, sealing the deal with a kiss. It seemed a more enjoyable option than gunpoint. Certainly more intimate. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal: Will, light of my life, the person who makes life worth living, my one and only true beloved, did you seriously rub my dinner invitation on your dogs before sending it back?   
> Will: Just the one dog.   
> Hannibal: ...  
> Will: My smelliest one.  
> Hannibal: ...  
> Will: I was really mad, ok!


End file.
